


King Harrow The Lorax

by Cursed Till the End of Time (Ciara_M)



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: I dislike myself, Im not sure how strong the Rayllum will be, Light Angst, More tags to be added, lorax au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-16 19:18:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16501196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ciara_M/pseuds/Cursed%20Till%20the%20End%20of%20Time
Summary: This is not a happy story.This story is about a hero who failed.A king who lost everything.This story is about King Harrow the Lorax.





	King Harrow The Lorax

**Author's Note:**

> I genuinely dislike myself for writing this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I genuinely dislike myself

* * *

 

Rayla was quieter than usual, Callum noticed as they walked down the street.

 

Callum had known her for a year now, and although his best friend didn’t laugh that often, she was never quiet. There was always a witty remark or sarcastic comment on the tip of her tongue, but not today. In fact, not for the past couple of weeks. He was worried.

 

The silence that filled the polluted air was thick and uncomfortable to Callum, but he couldn’t seem to find the right words to shatter it. He just watched Rayla from the corner of his eye as she kicked a small pebble down along the road. Her white hair was tucked behind her pointed ear, and a hat was covering her horns. She stared down at the ground, her brows furrowed contemplation.

 

He sighed and furrowed his nose deeper into his bright red scarf, which was wrapped over his nose to keep the air’s dead, sewage-like smell out. The awkwardness continued until they reached Rayla’s house and finally, she looked up and freed herself from her thoughts as she frantically patted down her pockets to try and find her key. Her wide purple eyes relaxed once she pulled the silver tool from her back pocket. With a few clicks from the lock, she swung the door open with a cheerful “Get in, asshole.”

 

He couldn’t help but smile. Now she was sounding like she was back to her old self.

 

Callum stepped inside and was immediately hit with the sense of magic and life. Fresh air filled the house, which Callum inhaled gratefully. The Dark Magic Company’s pump hummed quietly in the background, bringing some kind of colour and beauty into the grey, flat world that they lived in.

 

Rayla’s house was cozy and warm, with enough room for her two dads and herself. A small kitchen and living room bridged off from the wooden hallway, with a staircase right by the front door. Callum peeled off his coat and hung it on top of Rayla’s on the banister, then followed her up to her room to work on their science project.

 

Rayla’s room was pretty cramped. There was a bed with a pale purple duvet cover draped over it pushed into the corner, a radiator by the window across from it, and a desk crammed into the other corner. A water bottle was knocked over beside the bed, thankfully it was sealed, and there was a single dark green rug draped across the wooden floorboards in the middle of the room. The walls were the most interesting part of the room. A painting of a forest at dusk stretched across all four walls, so real Callum thought he might be able to reach through the wall and smell the pines.

 

“So I was thinkin’ about this science thingy and I had a couple of ideas,” Rayla said as they threw their stuff into her room. She collapsed onto her bed in the corner, but instead of sitting on the bed properly like a normal person, she gripped the bed with her legs and looked at Callum, upside down. Her hair brushed against the floorboards as she hung from her mattress. The purple duvet cover slipped down a little under her weight. Callum sat down cross-legged on the rug, placing his sketchbook open on a blank page beside him.

 

“Alright, shoot,” he said, swiftly grabbing a pencil and tearing a piece of paper out of his sketchbook.

 

“So, I was thinkin’ that we could measure the speed of how fast I run when I’m increasing drag, so I could-“

 

“Our biology project isn’t an excuse so you can Naruto run, Rayla,” Callum rolled his eyes. “Besides, that’s more physics, and I’m pretty sure we’d fail instantly if we turned that in.”

 

Rayla pouted. “Alright, wise guy, what’s your idea?”

 

“No idea.”

 

“It’s due in a week Callum! I knew we shouldn’t have waited so long!” Rayla groaned, followed by  a heavy trail of curse words muttered angrily under her breath, but it was cut short by the sound of rapping knuckles against the open door.

 

“Rayla!” Runaan scolded, leaning against the door frame. “Watch your language.”

 

“Sorry,” Rayla apologised half heartedly.

 

Callum tentatively lifted a hand in greeting. “Hey Runaan,”

 

Runaan just looked down on him. Callum gulped.

 

“What are you two doing in here?” Runaan asked.

 

Rayla shrugged. “Working on a science project. We can’t find a topic.”

 

“Did you suggest the running thing I told you about?”

 

“Callum thinks it’s stupid.”

 

_Don’t bring me into this. Don’t bring me into this_

 

Runaan glared at him.

 

_Shit._

 

 _“_ Well, I never said it was stupid!” Callum waved his hands in protest. “I just thought that it didn’t really fit into the whole biology category, especially seeing as we’re supposed to be doing it on habitats and…” he trailed off, his heart pounding in his chest a little. Runaan was cold and intimidating, especially towards Callum. He didn’t blame him; there had been a sort of tension between elves and humans for years now, probably since everything first started fading. Still, that dude was _scary._

 

But Runaan just looked into empty space, a look of consideration in his eyes.

“Habitats and ecosystems, huh?” Rayla nodded, and he turned to face his daughter head on. “Why don’t you do it on the effect of the dragons on the landscape that we told you about?”

 

The reaction that followed was… odd. Rayla was so surprised that she immediately began to cough and splutter, her purple eyes wide in some kind of mix of shock and indignation. Callum looked at his friend in alarm. Was she choking? Did she need help?

 

“But- we’re not supposed to-“ Rayla spluttered when she caught her breath. Her face was tinged scarlet.

 

Runaan shrugged. “Just a suggestion,” he said, before turning and leaving.

 

Yet another awkward silence passed between the two as Callum listened to Runaan’s footsteps getting further and further away. Rayla scowled down at the floor, still redder than Callum’s scarf.

 

“So, uh,” Callum cut through the quiet tentatively. “What was that about?”

 

“Nothin’” Rayla snapped quickly. “Just an elf thing.”

 

Curiosity sparked inside Callum. Rayla never talked to him about “elf things” and although he didn’t want to pry, he was still intrigued. He didn’t know much about elves or their culture, despite his best friend being one. He noticed that Rayla and her dads seemed a little closed off about elven history to humans, probably because humanity was the reason they had to leave their lives behind to join urban society.

 

Humans had completely drained the magic out of Xadia, the wild forests where the elves had lived peacefully, to fuel the ever growing demand for magic in the human lands. The elves had eventually been forced to migrate to the human cities for pure survival; they’d die without a magic source. Because of this, the tensions between elves and humans were strong. The fact that Callum and Rayla were friends was a shock to both elves and humans at school. Still, Callum couldn’t help but want to know more about his friend.

 

“Can you-“ he swallowed, his throat suddenly dry with the nervousness that Rayla might murder him on the spot. “Can you tell me about it?”

 

“What?” There was an edge to her voice.

 

“It’s just… I don’t really know much about you guys. I mean, up until a few years ago everyone thought elves were-“

 

“Savages?”

 

“I was going to say wild.” Callum scratched his neck. “Okay, this isn’t sounding great. I’ll shut up in a second. I just wanted to know more about you, Rayla-” He scooted a little closer to where Rayla was dangling- “and your culture. But if you don’t want to, I’m sorry I asked.”

 

Rayla sighed heavily, her fingers moving to fidget with a lock of her hair. Callum tugged at the edge of his sleeve, wishing he had just kept his fat mouth shut.

 

He was considering leaving the house to try and relieve his friend of the awkwardness when Rayla spoke. Her voice was quiet, as if she wasn’t sure of what she was saying.

 

“I don’t honestly know the ins and outs of it, and I only was told properly a couple weeks ago,” she started. “My Dads were around back then, so they explain it better, but basically all the magic in Xadia came from the dragons. We elves survived off it, and then they disappeared. Except they didn’t disappear. A human, one bloody human, killed off all the dragons eggs. Then they all died off, one by one. Dragons only give birth every few years, y’know. That human took ‘em eggs faster than the dragons could lay them, all for the power. The dragons kept everything _alive,_ Callum! Without them everything began to wither and die, my parents-“ she gasped for breath- “My birth parents, faded away. All because one stupid human-“

 

Rayla had completely lost her composure. Her breath was uneven and rapid. She pulled herself back onto the mattress and turned away towards the wall, hiding her face from Callum’s view, but he could see her four-fingered hands rubbing her eyes furiously. Was this what had been bothering her the past couple of weeks? Knowing how her birth parents died?

 

Callum bit his lip, then moved to sit beside Rayla. He made sure to sit on the other side of the bed, facing the opposite direction to her, thinking she might be a little more comfortable if he looked away. He reached out and, cautiously, put his hand on hers. His fingers touched hers, and it felt stiff for a moment. Callum was prepared to pull away. Rayla had never been one for physical contact. Yet, after a second, her hand relaxed a little and adjusted itself so that she was clinging onto his hand for support. He still didn’t look at her, knowing that Rayla wouldn’t allow herself to be this vulnerable she thought he was watching.

 

“It’s okay,” he whispered gently. “I’m not judging.”

 

Rayla was silent. Callum didn’t think she was full on crying, but the way her hand was trembling made him think that she was holding it in. After several minutes of sitting in the quiet, hands clasped together without saying a word, Callum spoke up.

 

“Rayla, I’m so sorry…”

 

She sniffed. “It’s fine. Wasn’t you anyways. Just some other shithead human.”

 

“But your parents…” he said, his voice trailing off.

 

“They’re gone. Ain’t nothin’ anyone can do about it. You could offer all the dragons in the world and they’d still be dead, but maybe-“ She stopped.

 

“Maybe what?”

 

“Nothin’. Wishful thinkin’, I suppose. It’s just that maybe, a dragon could save some of Xadia. Bring some of it back somehow, but there aren’t any more dragons or dragon eggs left,” She said bitterly. “Let’s just work on the project, okay?”

 

They ended up deciding on some half-hearted topic, dividing the work equally between them. Callum couldn’t focus fully, however. Rayla’s words lingered in his mind, and his inner cogs began to turn. Maybe… just maybe… she would be thrilled but… impossible… he didn’t know the full story anyways… but…

 

As he stepped back into the lifeless air, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He found the person he was looking for, pressed call, and helf the phone to his ear as the dial tone went off. Finally, the other end picked up.

 

“Hey Callum! Wha-“

 

“Ez, how do you feel about seeing if we can track down a dragon?”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is fun!   
> If you want updates on how future chapters are coming along (for some weird reason) or if you just want to yell at me, check out my tumblr, princecallumsscarf !

**Author's Note:**

> If you, for some weird reason, want updates om how future chapters are coming along, my tumblr is Princecallumsscarf !  
> Please come yell at me!


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